Recommended Books

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Beginning GIMP: From Novice to Professional
is my book on image processing using GIMP: the GNU Image
Manipulation Program. Now out in its second edition!
You can find a lot more information about the book
at Gimpbook.com.

Assembling
California, John McPhee.
My first introduction to geology, which sparked a passion I'm still
pursuing. McPhee is an engaging writer and this book will get you
thinking regardless of whether you've studied geology before.
(If you haven't, though, be ready to intuit the meaning of some
geologic terms.) See also the next entry.

Annals
of the Former World, John McPhee.
Assembling California is actually the final volume in
McPhee's decade-long exploration of the nation's geology.
This book collects all the volumes in the series previously
published as separate books -- Basin and
Range, In Suspect Terrain, Rising from the Plains, and Assembling
California -- and adds a fifth, Crossing the Craton.

The
Control of Nature, John McPhee.
This is an old book which collects three essays on the subject of
man's attempts to control natural forces. They're all
thought-provoking, but the third, Los Angeles Against the
Mountains, was a revelation to me: I grew up in Los Angeles'
San Gabriel Valley but never really understood the mechanics of
flooding and landslides there, nor the significance of
the debris basins.

The first geology guidebook I've seen which covers the south bay and
peninsula, not just San Francisco and Marin. It doesn't cover
everything, but it has plenty of information you won't find
elsewhere, and it's beautifully printed and full of color
photographs by John Karachewski.

A collection of interesting explorations in the Mojave and Death
Valley areas. Not to be taken as a comprehensive geology book, this
collection is sure to offer some ideas for trips you'd never have
considered before, like the
Victorville
Narrows of the Mojave river.

The
Linux Cookbook, Carla Schroder.
Carla has a wonderfully clear writing style, and in this book she
offers simple recipes for all sorts of tasks the Linux user needs.
(Full disclosure: she's a friend, editor and fellow LinuxChix member.)

Mapping
Hacks, Schuyler Erle, Rich Gibson, Jo Walsh.
A beautiful book, full of useful information, but I still found
it somewhat disappointing becuase it didn't answer my perennial
question: "How do I use those files from the USGS and turn them
into maps I can actually see? How do I tell which formats are
usable and which aren't?" Okay, those are two questions, but
they're related. Still, this book is the best I've seen so far.